The Williams Record

Women’s squash overcomes Brown

For the 11th consecutive year women’s squash (12-9, 5-1 in the NESCAC) took out Amherst and Wesleyan on Saturday to win the Little Three title. The Ephs won 17 out of 18 matches, giving up its only match to the Jeffs. The rest of the matches were all won in an efficient three games.

“The Little Three rivalry makes our sweeping victories especially meaningful, and everyone seemed to step up and play well against these two teams who are always gunning for us,” Jen Coxe ’10 said.
Earlier in the week, the team faced off against Brown for the No. 8 position in the country and a spot in the Ã¢â‚¬ËœA’ Division of the National Championships. The Ephs defeated Brown 6-3 in one of the most competitive matches of the season and took back its position in the Ã¢â‚¬ËœA’ Division after losing it last year in a series of tough 5-4 matches.

Going into the match, the Ephs were anxious without their co-captain, Claire Hsu ’09, who is out for the rest of the season due to illness. The team rose to the challenge, though, and players six through 10 all moved up one position ready to face their opponents.

The night started out strong for the Ephs, with the team winning two out of the first three matches at positions three, six and nine. At the No. 9 spot Julia Reiser ’10 efficiently beat Brown’s Sarah Roberts 9-4, 10-8, 9-4. The match evened out a bit, though, as the second round of players stepped on the court, and both No. 8 Carolyn Kaemmer ’12 and No. 5 Caroline Henry ’10 lost to their Brown adversaries in tight five-game matches. Coxe held down the No. 2 position with a solid 3-1 victory. The team solidified its victory with strong wins in the last round, in which both Toby Eyre ’10 and Stephanie Barnet ’09 defeated their opponents in three quick, efficient games.

“Beating Brown was a great team victory and getting back in the Ã¢â‚¬ËœA’ division makes it especially sweet as it reflects all the hard work we’ve put in as a team all season,” Coxe said.

“It was an absolutely fantastic performance for the entire team, especially after losing Claire Hsu,” said Head Coach Zafi Levy.

The Ephs will now spend the week gaining momentum and gearing up for their final matches of the season at Nationals this weekend, where they will attempt once more to take out rivals Stanford and Cornell.
“Qualifying for the Ã¢â‚¬ËœA’ draw was our goal for the year and I am extremely happy that we fulfilled it, but our next goal is to beat Stanford or Cornell,” Levy said.